Meningococcal Disease

Ms STINSON (Badcoe) (15:14): My question is to the Minister for Child Protection. Have any concerns been raised with the minister or her department about her department's response to instances of meningococcal suffered by children and young people in residential or commercial care?

The SPEAKER: Minister for Child Protection—or Minister for Energy and Mining.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart—Minister for Energy and Mining) (15:14): Thank you, Mr Speaker. As the—

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Leader, please.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: As the minister—

Mr Duluk interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Waite said something about Oakden. He is warned.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: As the minister in this house representing the Minister for Health and Wellbeing in the other place, I think it is quite appropriate that I try to share some valuable information with the house on this. Let me—

The Hon. S.C. Mullighan interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Lee is warned for a second time.

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, leader!

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: It is extraordinary that those opposite would think that meningococcal is a child protection issue only and nothing to do with health. It is quite extraordinary.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Leader, please.

An honourable member: Throw him out.

The SPEAKER: I might. He doesn't like it when I do.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: I suppose the first thing we need to look at in regard to meningococcal is the fact that after 16 years in government the former Labor government left South Australia as the only state in the nation that did not have a meningococcal vaccination program. We went to the election with a very clear commitment to address that.

Mr Bell interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Mount Gambier is called to order.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: And the member for Frome.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Mr Speaker, that very—

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, leader!

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: —clear commitment—

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The leader is on two warnings.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: That very clear commitment—

The Hon. S.S. Marshall interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Premier is called to order.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: —which we made as a decision ourselves—some of them were announced and some of them were not—be very clear, the Minister for Health and Wellbeing—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Don't you want to know? The Minister for Health and Wellbeing did not listen to the calls of those opposite but just said, 'Do it now and do it for all children.' He took genuine, serious advice, and he took advice from clinicians, as he does on these medical issues. He actually announced a program starting on 1 October—

The SPEAKER: There is a point of order. Minister, be seated for one moment, please.

Dr CLOSE: The point of order is relevance, given that the question was about non-health facilities management, not a history of meningococcal in South Australia.

The SPEAKER: I have the point of order. I have allowed the minister some preamble, but I ask him to come back to the substance of the question.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Thank you.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: In October, the minister implemented a policy to give vaccinations for children from six weeks and up, and also a commitment—

The Hon. S.C. Mullighan interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Lee can leave for eight minutes under 137A.

The honourable member for Lee having withdrawn from the chamber:

An honourable member: He didn't even see the year out.

The SPEAKER: Order! Eight minutes.

Mr Patterson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Morphett can join him for eight minutes.

The honourable member for Morphett having withdrawn from the chamber:

The SPEAKER: The minister has the call. I would like to ask another question—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Yes, I am trying to deal with this. If members on my left and right continue to interject, it is hard to do. Minister.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: After announcing in October this year a vaccination policy for children from six weeks to 12 months old, in 2019 there will be a policy for teenage children in the 16 to 17—

Mr PICTON: Point of order: relevance and debate. There was a specific question—

The SPEAKER: That would be 98, yes.

Mr PICTON: —about the management of cases in the child protection portfolio—

The SPEAKER: Yes, I have the point of order.

Mr PICTON: —and whether concerns have been raised with the minister.

The SPEAKER: Is the minister wrapping up his answer?

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Sir, this is very relevant to the management of meningococcal.

The SPEAKER: Please wrap up your answer.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: It is very relevant to the management—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: —of children with meningococcal.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Please!

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: The Minister for Health and Wellbeing—

The Hon. T.J. Whetstone interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development is not assisting.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: The Minister for Health and Wellbeing is going about this issue in an incredibly responsible, well-advised way. The benefits of this vaccination program, while those opposite don't seem to care, will be for all children. Those in state care and those not in state care will all benefit from the policies of this government to support children and try to prevent them from contracting meningococcal.